Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
Harmless Like You
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
73 posts | 37 read | 131 to read
'This brilliant debut novel by Rowan Hisayo Buchanan is cause for celebration.' LORRIE MOOREWritten in startlingly beautiful prose, HARMLESS LIKE YOU is set across New York, Berlin and Connecticut, following the stories of Yuki Oyama, a Japanese girl fighting to make it as an artist, and Yuki's son Jay who, as an adult in the present day, is forced to confront his mother who abandoned him when he was only two years old.HARMLESS LIKE YOU is an unforgettable novel about the complexities of identity, art, adolescent friendships and familial bonds, offering a unique exploration of love, loneliness and reconciliation.
Amazon Indiebound Barnes and Noble WorldCat Goodreads LibraryThing
Pick icon
100%
review
rachaich
Harmless Like You: A Novel | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image
Pickpick

What a well written and constructed novel. Both aspects were interesting and came together well. No saccharine sweetness, and a thoughtful ending.

blurb
rachaich
Harmless Like You: A Novel | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image

This is good so far.
Interested to see how the two will merge, and how they'll get on.
I like the 60s era although the toxicity of relationships is vile!

review
TrishB
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image
Pickpick

Sad and lonely 😢 are the main lessons you get from this book. Yuki is a multi faceted character and eventually just wants to be. But that means leaving her husband and young son behind. The story then brings mother and son together in later years.
Beautiful writing, but not a glimmer of hope until the end.

Cathythoughts Sounds good ❤️ 3y
TrishB @Cathythoughts love your new pic ❤️ 3y
Cathythoughts Thankyou X 3y
BarbaraBB It does sound appealing but I don‘t have much patience for books without a glimmer of hope so I‘m not sure. 3y
TrishB @BarbaraBB the hope only comes in at the very end! 3y
87 likes1 stack add5 comments
blurb
TrishB
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image

#weeklyforecast may/will involve some or all of these 😁 happy reading Litsy land.

AmyG We Begin at the End was so good . Great characters. Enjoy! (edited) 3y
Cinfhen Great choices!!!! Although not familiar with tagged book 3y
BarbaraBB Hope you‘ll get to We Begin this week! 3y
See All 13 Comments
TrishB @AmyG @BarbaraBB I‘ve started We Begin this afternoon 👍🏻 3y
TrishB @Cinfhen I think it was in a Guardian recommended list. 3y
Cinfhen Has your new book arrived??? 3y
TrishB @Cinfhen only just and I couldn‘t wait til 4pm to be reading something! So started the other one. 3y
Cinfhen Oh good!! So you‘re all set 3y
Cathythoughts Happy Reading to you too Trish 📚😘 3y
BarbaraBB @TrishB it‘s good don‘t you think? I just finished part 2. Another great twist. I love Duchess 🤍 3y
Fr3NcHtOaSt We Begin at the End was a great book. So good. 3y
TrishB @BarbaraBB it‘s great, she‘s a brilliant character! 3y
TrishB @Fr3NcHtOaSt it definitely is. 3y
85 likes1 stack add13 comments
blurb
erzascarletbookgasm
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image

#readingresolutions #bookishmountain
Running out of shelf space, the floor is just as good. 😬

rockpools Oh! I've got Harmless Like You on the kindle. It might be time to see what else is lurking forgotten on there. 6y
tammysue I‘m needing shelves too! 😔 6y
batsy Oh yes. "Don't underestimate the floor" say booklovers everywhere ? 6y
See All 12 Comments
saresmoore Bookcases aren‘t cheap! I have a room full of books on the floor. 😬 My paperbacks told me they were fine on the floor, but those snobbish Folios gave me the side-eye. 6y
Billypar @saresmoore Oh those uppity folios- if they're not sitting on mahogany, they start whining 😂 6y
Crazeedi I have stacks like this too! 6y
erzascarletbookgasm @saresmoore @Billypar 😂🤣You two make me chuckle! 6y
Mdargusch Looks like it‘s meant to be 👍🏼 6y
Cinfhen Happiness 🤩🤩🤩🤩 6y
Parvez 😍😍😍😍 6y
emilyhaldi Totally 🙌🏻 6y
Zelma Some amazing titles in there. I just read A Spool of Blue Thread and loved it. 6y
98 likes12 comments
blurb
Mitch
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image

The library that I‘m staying in for the weekend runs a writer in residence programme. Part of this book was written here when the author was in residency! So brought my copy back to its birthplace ! #onlyafellowbooknerdwouldunderstand

robinb That‘s really neat! 😊 6y
TrishB Cool 👍🏻 6y
kspenmoll Wonderful! 6y
RaimeyGallant Cool! 6y
Mitch I‘m wondering if I‘m sat at the actual ‘desk‘ it was written at. There are only a few here, so the probability is good! 6y
91 likes1 stack add5 comments
review
Tonton
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image
Pickpick

So much to think about: identity and choice, marriage,and dreams, the passion to create art. Got me thinking about my mother, her struggle to balance motherhood and art; what if she had made different choices?

6 likes1 stack add
blurb
rockpools
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image

https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2017/05/18/the-library-of-books-and-bombs/

When the Harmless Like You was about to be published, the author was freaking out a little (paraphrasing slightly)! So she did what we all do in these situations- took herself off to the library. The linked article tells how she became curious by the library's history as an asylum, and threw herself into researching it. #MrAsylum #TuneintoNovember @Robothugs @Cinfhen

rockpools Also, the books Q9.99 on UK Kindle, if you need to know (which I did...) 6y
Cinfhen Fascinating article~ thanks for posting and sharing ❤️ 6y
mhillis Interesting! 6y
35 likes3 comments
review
andrew61
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image
Pickpick

What a unique story of a young womans sense of displacement im a rapidly changing society. Born an only child a Japanese family located in new York in the 1960's Yuki falls under the spell of fascinating odile the school outsider. What follows is the story of her life which proves to be hypnotic yet very sad. A bk i enjoyed, is very readable yet will stay with me for a while.A string of photos from my lbrary will follow on returning my latest rds

17 likes1 stack add
blurb
andrew61
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image

I've got a day off today and plan to catch up on my posts on litsy but am already distracted by rugby on tv at 11 o'clock in the morning. This has been the theme of the last couple of weeks when i had a bit of a reading slump due to a busy time of work so ended up binge watching wolf hall which id had stored for 2 years. Anyway hopefully ill catch up a bit now.

Cathythoughts Rugby season is upon us 👍🏉 6y
Michelle_mck Go the Kangaroos! 6y
andrew61 @Michelle_mck 😀 a good game, hopefully result will be reversed in the final. 6y
See All 8 Comments
DrexEdit Oh but wolf hall is so wonderful, book or TV! 😊 6y
andrew61 Tv, although it made me want to reread the books in anticipation of the new book whenever that appears 6y
saresmoore I know next to nothing about rugby, but the book and viewing selections strike me as being a bit incongruous! 6y
Leftcoastzen Ah rugby, played by men with amazing thighs!😀 6y
19 likes8 comments
review
jenniferheidi
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image
Pickpick

I absolutely loved this book; it just aches with sadness and loneliness. As vivid as the colours that are described at the beginning of each chapter, Yuki is such a compelling character. I could have read about her for many, many more pages.

2 likes1 stack add
review
annaf91
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image
Pickpick

Absolutely loved this book - was hard to put down (even when it made me cry in public!). Really felt a connection with the characters and an understanding of their thoughts and feelings as they're trying to find themselves. Highly recommended!

blurb
annaf91
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image

Been reading a lot of non fiction recently so looking forward to getting into a good novel! Not heard of the author before but book sounds really interesting - exploring identity, art, love, families to name a few things the book's about #busreads

quote
Moray_Reads
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image

saresmoore "The power of moonlight is famous" rings especially true after having just finished The Master and Margarita! 7y
Moray_Reads @saresmoore did you like it? 7y
saresmoore I LOVED it. I've no idea how to review it, though. Still marinating. 7y
See All 10 Comments
Moray_Reads @saresmoore oh, I can't say how pleased I am! It's such a masterpiece and it makes me feel EVERYTHING ❤ 7y
saresmoore I didn't anticipate how moving it would be! Absurd, yes. Observant, of course! But it is rich with so much more. Especially the parts with Pilate, a character I've always sympathized with. Yes, like I said, still marinating. 7y
Moray_Reads @saresmoore I love the way he deals with Pilate, it's so nuanced and human and revealing and the conversation between Woland and Matthew Levi is so powerful. Bulgakov's whole soul is in it 7y
saresmoore Yes! And I'm so glad I read Manuscripts Don't Burn first. I read with a much deeper understanding, I think, and it made every chapter poignant. It's his magnum opus! 7y
Moray_Reads @saresmoore you're making me a little sad that I've already done my annual re-read! 7y
Moray_Reads @saresmoore PS I hope your girls enjoyed their first day at school 😘 7y
saresmoore They really did enjoy it. It's the beginning of a new era! Oh and I keep meaning to ask, how are you liking the actual tagged book? 7y
28 likes10 comments
review
Alena
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image
Pickpick

I fell head over heart for the beautiful ache of this novel. Difficult subjects and not much plot line, but the emotional truths and the intense beauty of the writing spoke to my soul. Loved it.

blurb
BookishRedhead
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image

Next up in the TBR. Picking up after The Dark Prophecy.

blurb
shawnmooney
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image

An essay in the latest Paris Review by this novelist whose debut novel Harmless Like You has left a marvelous aftertaste.

https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2017/05/18/the-library-of-books-and-bombs/

42 likes2 stack adds
blurb
sisilia
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image

Hmmmm 🤔

Hooked_on_books There's a variation on this used in surgery training: better (or perfect) is the enemy of good. Makes a lot of sense to me! 7y
sisilia @Hooked_on_books That's interesting! 7y
26 likes2 comments
blurb
sisilia
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image

blurb
sisilia
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image

I heard that this is a good one

BooksForEmpathy I really liked it. 7y
27 likes1 comment
review
sumaiyya.books
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image
Pickpick

What a satisfying book to read ❤️ I found myself stopping regularly to savor the writing. The lead protagonist struggles with trying to become an artist in 60s America; Asian artists are mostly overlooked. It was so striking to see how that results in her depression and hacks away at her relationships. I have some issues with the book, but overall this was an amazing debut that I loved reading, especially for the multiracial aspects.

bookandcat Ooh I'll have to look this one up, sounds great. Check out Chemistry - it also is beautifully written and has a Asian American woman protagonist who is struggling with depression. The book delves into the relationships around her and how they impact or are impacted by her depression. It's focused on the field of chemistry, not art. 7y
shawnmooney I loved this one deeply too, while having some minor issues with it as well. Shall we compare issues? :) 7y
sumaiyya.books @shawnmooney yes please! Would love to know what you thought. 7y
sumaiyya.books @bookandcat I absolutely loved Chemistry 😍 7y
bookandcat @sumaiyya.books yaaaaay!!! I just saw they made it a BotM selection for June so I hope even more folks will read and enjoy! 7y
70 likes4 stack adds5 comments
review
shawnmooney
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image
Pickpick

A powerful debut, the story of Yuki, an aspiring artist, a teenager in late-60s NYC without her Japanese parents. She struggles to make art and relationships; decades later, her abandoned son tracks her down in Germany. The earlier narrative was spellbinding: Yuki vividly, lovingly alive on the page; the adult son's character, however, never rang true, rendering that third of the tale less compelling. I loved Yuki; loved most of this novel a lot!

LeahBergen Nice review! 7y
45 likes1 stack add1 comment
quote
shawnmooney
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image

Lacythebookworm Oh dear 😳 7y
sprainedbrain Haha! 😂 7y
See All 8 Comments
ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled Duck!! 😂 (edited) 7y
CouronneDhiver Run! 🏃🏽 7y
LeahBergen 😬 7y
Hooked_on_books I just spit on my phone. 😂🤣 7y
52 likes8 comments
quote
shawnmooney
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image

Simona Quotes are intriguing ... but I'll wait for your final judgment. 7y
34 likes1 comment
quote
shawnmooney
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image

coffeenebula 🐦💩=😂 7y
Hooked_on_books That would be my BF shouting from the back row. 🙄 7y
34 likes2 comments
quote
shawnmooney
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image

quote
shawnmooney
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image

Lindy Eeep. 😳 7y
LeahBergen Barf 🤢 7y
DrexEdit Vivid! 😂😨 but Yuck. 7y
22 likes4 comments
quote
shawnmooney
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image

julesG What? 7y
Lindy Ha ha ha! 7y
saresmoore "Part of my brain was always trying to figure out..." Normal. 7y
LeahBergen Pretty much. 7y
25 likes4 comments
blurb
Redwritinghood
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image

#bookmail Here's the rest of the day's book mail. I can't believe they all came on the same day!

LeahBergen Nice!! 😍 7y
TrishB I love it when that happens 😀 7y
saresmoore What a great stack! 7y
Hobbinol I love it when that happens! 7y
67 likes4 comments
quote
shawnmooney
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image

RealLifeReading Lovely quote! 7y
LeahBergen Have your hands forgotten the western "casual lean" after all your years in Japan? ? 7y
31 likes2 comments
quote
shawnmooney
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image

saresmoore Whoa. 7y
ValerieAndBooks All the quotes you've shared have been amazing, adding this to my TBR! 7y
shawnmooney @saresmoore @ValerieAndBooks i'm now well over halfway through, so I can confidently say it's an astonishing debut! 💖 7y
saresmoore I really can't believe it's a debut! Amazing! 7y
31 likes1 stack add4 comments
quote
shawnmooney
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image

quote
shawnmooney
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image

Redwritinghood I ordered this book from Book Depository and am anxiously awaiting its arrival. All your quotes are making me look forward to reading it. 7y
30 likes1 comment
quote
shawnmooney
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image

saresmoore I love this, not only because I remember when my Elliott was an inarticulate pink flesh-sack. 7y
40 likes1 comment
quote
shawnmooney
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image

Cinfhen 😊❤️ 7y
reneelyons I'm reading the this now! 7y
saresmoore Ahahaha! Yes! This makes me wonder what happens when women are variables. Do they add, subtract, or bring exponents or fractions to the equation? Or do women get a number sentence all of their own? 🙃 7y
56 likes1 stack add3 comments
quote
shawnmooney
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image

37 likes1 stack add
quote
shawnmooney
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image

review
BooksForEmpathy
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image
Pickpick

The last chapters made the build up worth it for me. This is a mother/son tale; one that is gutting and might bring feelings of disgust or anger. If you liked The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri (I LOVED it), pick this one up. Explorations of belonging, what it means to be an artist, motherhood, abuse, & abandonment are all at play here.

There's also a cat/human relationship that is so nuanced and tender that it made me want to become a cat person.

Cinfhen Nice review 😊 7y
Notafraidofwords What, you sold me. I loved The Lowland! 7y
shawnmooney I'm reading it very slowly, savoring every page. I cannot believe this is a debut novel! 7y
sisilia Oh I want to read this. Jhumpa Lahiri is my fav author; I've read all her books and love all of them. If this is comparable to Lahiri, there's high chance that I'll love this @shawnmooney @BooksForEmpathy 7y
95 likes4 stack adds4 comments
quote
shawnmooney
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image

blurb
reneelyons
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image

Sunday 📚

quote
shawnmooney
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image

An extraordinary passage, even though, if you haven't read the entire novel up to this point, you won't catch the resonance of L's strange gift. The writing is just blowing me away! 💜

saresmoore This one is stealthily climbing to the top of my TBR. 7y
shawnmooney @saresmoore This month has been a perfect example of why I keep bailing on books I'm not enjoying: I'm now, this month, again, left with a bevy of incredible ones because I cleared my plate for them… 💜 7y
saresmoore It is such a good strategy and one that I've always employed (much to the chagrin of many of my professors). I only wish there was a DNF category on Goodreads so it didn't fudge with my reading stats! 7y
29 likes2 stack adds3 comments
quote
shawnmooney
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image

quote
shawnmooney
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image

quote
shawnmooney
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image

saresmoore YES! 7y
34 likes1 comment
blurb
Rhondareads
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image

I've been reading rave reviews about this debut novel

16 likes2 stack adds
quote
shawnmooney
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image

saresmoore Photo-quote game is on point with this one! 7y
shawnmooney @saresmoore 😍😘❤ 7y
Cinfhen Agreed @saresmoore 👍🏻 7y
Soubhiville Yes, powerful combo! 7y
55 likes4 comments
quote
shawnmooney
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image

quote
shawnmooney
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image

saresmoore Oof. This book! I think I'm going to like it a lot. 7y
shawnmooney @saresmoore I'd almost bet money that you will! 7y
32 likes2 comments
quote
shawnmooney
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image

saresmoore That is painfully vivid, just what the subject warrants—description enhances rather than diminishes—and I can feel it all, even her numbness, without a trace of sentimentality. Good grief. "Things that took a minute..." 7y
shawnmooney @saresmoore The self-assured, visceral power of the prose so far is absolutely mind-blowing! 7y
29 likes1 stack add2 comments
quote
shawnmooney
Harmless Like You | Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
post image